Gas Stove, Fireplace and Safety Precautions

Many houses today are still dealing with gases for cooking, warming up the place and heating the water. Some of the related appliances that can be found are natural gas burners, wood burning stoves, gas grills, kerosene heaters, gas water heaters and gas stove fireplaces. These equipments are very useful at home as well as in the office but when bad situation arise without the users knowing it can caused serious safety and health problems.

Gas leak, faulty installation and poor ventilation are the most common problems of causing incomplete burned gas or namely carbon monoxide (CO) present in the air. CO is a colorless, odorless yet highly flammable and extremely poisonous gas. Even a slight inhale in little quantities can cause severe health issue, while longer exposure can be fatal. In fact, hundreds of people die every year in the UK alone from unintentional gas poisoning.

To prevent unwanted poisoning in your home, you will need assistance from certified gas plumbers and adhere five of the given steps below.

1) Improper installation or unsafe gas devices are the main reason behind CO gathering in homes. One significant sign of telling this problem is to look at the flame. Any gas burners nowadays should create a crisp blue flame instead of the lazy yellow or orange flame. If the flame changes color, an incorrect gas connection between the piping and fitting or a puncture might occur. Shut off the gas outlet and investigate at once for any leakage.

2) Ideally, our home heating systems must be cleaned by professional plumbers once a year. Every pipe, tube, duct and chimney for all sorts of heating solutions in our home should be kept clear of debris.

3) No one should ever burn charcoal inside the house even if it's for the fireplace because CO can build up to a hazardous level. Installing gas stove fireplace is a safer alternative. Advisably, clean and test them again before the winter begins.

4) A place that is lack of ventilation such as the basement, garage and other closed areas is not suitable to use gas powered devices. In case if CO is accumulated when using gas appliances, you will need a place that can allow the harmful gas to escape as quickly as possible. You might want to consider changing to an electric powered fireplace or electric stove instead to avoid all these hassles since electrical devices do not emit harmful gasses and require no venting systems.

5) CO poisoning is not a joke, so the best way to protect and to alert your family from inhaling this dangerous gas is to get an alarm. There are two types of alarms, one in which is solely a carbon monoxide alarm while another is a combined smoke and CO alarm. They work the same way as the usual smoke alarm and will beeps loudly once triggered when sensing the present of CO gas. Homeowners can always ask a licensed plumber to have these alarms installed in their homes.